{"id":5552,"date":"2017-09-05T08:51:09","date_gmt":"2017-09-05T14:51:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/paperbacktheology\/?p=5552"},"modified":"2017-09-08T06:12:03","modified_gmt":"2017-09-08T12:12:03","slug":"daca-is-literally-the-least-we-can-do-heres-why-ending-it-is-stupid","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/paperbacktheology\/2017\/09\/daca-is-literally-the-least-we-can-do-heres-why-ending-it-is-stupid.html","title":{"rendered":"DACA Is Literally the Least We Can Do: Here’s Why Ending It Is Stupid"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\"blog<\/a>Meet\u00a0Larissa Martinez. She was the 2016 valedictorian of\u00a0McKinney Boyd High School, and is on full scholarship to Yale. She is bright, hardworking, and is a credit to her family and community. She is also in danger of being deported at any moment. She was brought to America with her mother, who was fleeing an abusive alcoholic husband \u2026\u00a0a few years too late to take part in DACA, as it turns out.<\/p>\n

Nevertheless, her speech is an inspiring look at what it means to be a young undocumented immigrant today. I challenge you to watch it and then tell me we don\u2019t want her to be part of this society.<\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=b5ILAr_wlf8<\/p>\n

Who are the dreamers?<\/h3>\n

President Obama said it best:<\/p>\n

\u201cThese are young people who study in our schools, they play in our neighborhoods, they\u2019re friends with our kids, they pledge allegiance to our flag. They are Americans in their heart, in their minds, in every single way but one: on paper. They were brought to this country by their parents \u2014 sometimes even as infants \u2014 and often have no idea that they\u2019re undocumented until they apply for a job or a driver\u2019s license, or a college scholarship.\u00a0Put yourself in their shoes.\u00a0 Imagine you\u2019ve done everything right your entire life \u2014 studied hard, worked hard, maybe even graduated at the top of your class \u2014 only to suddenly face the threat of deportation to a country that you know nothing about, with a language that you may not even speak \u2026 It makes no sense to expel talented young people, who, for all intents and purposes, are Americans \u2014 they\u2019ve been raised as Americans; understand themselves to be part of this country \u2014 to expel these young people who want to staff our labs, or start new businesses, or defend our country simply because of the actions of their parents \u2014 or because of the inaction of politicians.\u201d \u2013 President Obama<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Dreamers are an economic boom<\/h3>\n

Dreamers\u00a0have passed background checks, paid fees, stayed in school, obeyed the law, attended college, paid taxes, and served in the military. Dreamers and their families pay taxes just like everyone else, but in most cases\u00a0they are not eligible for many of the benefits and services that citizens receive especially when it comes to education. Most are not eligible for federal or state aid.<\/p>\n

Extending\u00a0hospitality to the dreamers costs America exactly nothing. In fact it\u2019s a huge net gain to the economy. DACA recipients are expected to grow the U.S. economy cumulatively by $230 billion over the next 10 years<\/a>. However,\u00a0America has always been a nation of immigrants. So you might say that refusing to extend hospitality\u00a0to dreamers will cost America its very heart and soul.<\/p>\n

Alonso Guill\u00e9n<\/a>\u00a0is a dreamer from Houston who had a good job as a radio host. He left work during Hurricane Harvey to spend the day helping to rescue victims. Guill\u00e9n spent his last day with his friends ferrying people to safety in small boats. He\u00a0was working late into the night when the boat he was riding in slammed into an\u00a0I-45 bridge and he was thrown into the rushing water. His body was recovered the next day. Guill\u00e9n was brought to America from Mexico when he was 15, a beneficiary of the Obama-era protections under DACA. He died risking his own life to save others. Tell me we don\u2019t want him to be part of our society.<\/p>\n

Alejandra Gonzalez is on a full ride to Wake Forest. Here\u2019s an interview she gave after\u00a0her high school graduation. She was Valedictorian of R.B. Stall High School.\u00a0One more reason to extend DACA, and to finally do some sort of immigration reform. I challenge you to listen to this interview and tell me we don\u2019t want her to be part of this society.<\/p>\n